Page 79 of Spies Like Us

“I don’t care, as long as she is no longer here. God, I hope she ends up with someone who wants to fuck her with a knife or something.”

“We just have to get rid of that boy so Sophie can have Ryland. Thanks to your father’s disgusting club, we have all the blackmail material we need. At least they are useful for something.”

“When is she going to wake up? I want to be here to see the look in her eyes when she realizes where she is and that despite her efforts, she’s never going to be any better than a used up, dirty whore.”

“Stella, your jealousy really isn’t attractive.” That’s Martha’s voice, and I hear a male chuckle.

“Are you sure she has to go? She and the boy were really popular the other night. I’ve already had requests for them in the future.” That’s Matthews voice.

“No, they have to go. They bother my nieces, and the girls can’t see the usefulness of their future husbands having available whores on the side. I’m sure that will change, but at the moment, they have tunnel vision.” I crack my eyes open, and Martha is staring at me through the glass door on one of the cells. “Ah, Mackenzie, you’re awake.”

I struggle to sit up. There’s no IV in my arm, so I haven’t been drugged like the other prisoners, but I’m groggy from the hit on the head. I wonder who it was and if I managed to get them with the tool I’d been holding.

“Where am I?” I croak, feigning ignorance, and she smiles. There is no sign of warmth in her eyes anymore. I can’t stop the shudder from running down my spine, because I know I’m looking into the eyes of a psychopath.

“Just in a holding cell until your new owner transfers the fund into our account. Then, we will know where we have to send you,” Martha explains, looking at the watch on her hand.

“New owner?” I ask. “But I work for Matthew.” I point to the man in question, and he shrugs.

“Sorry, kid. We could have made plenty of money together, but she’s the boss, and she says you have to go.”

“Boss?”

“Yeah, Martha and June here single-handedly run a human trafficking operation that has made them very wealthy women,” he tells me.

“There it is.” Stella steps up into my line of sight and presses herself close to the glass, a smug, satisfied grin spreading across her face. “The realization that she is literally fucked. God, it’s worth it. I wonder if she’s going to cry.”

I sob just to make the last moments of her life a little happier, because if I get out of here, I’m going to snap her neck. Deep down, I’m satisfied as fuck, because Stella has a welt across her cheek with a couple of butterfly bandages on it. I bet she’s the one who knocked me out, but I clocked her first.

“I have to go. I have business dealings with Amir and Hinata at the club tonight. I’ll deliver the boy to you when he finishes his shift. Keith will bring him down.” Matthew departs, leaving me with the three Standish women.

“Very well, I have to be going too. It will be dinner soon, and my kids will be waiting for me,” Martha says.

“What are you going to tell them about this?” June points at me through the glass, and Martha shrugs.

“That Mac decided to stay in New York, and they offered for her to start classes early.”

“You,” I rasp out. “You are responsible for your missing foster kids. But why?” I ask, because this is what I really want to know.

She steps closer to the glass and leans her shoulder against it. “Why? Because I like money, and why should anyone else have a decent foster home to live in? I certainly didn’t. That filthy old man violated us regularly, and that nasty old bitch would just turn a blind eye. After the first time it happened to me, I swore I would get even, and I did. Watching her gasp for air with her hand against her chest as the life slowly drained out of her was one of the happiest days of my life, right up there with realizing there was a market for forgotten children, and I had perfect access to them.”

“You’re an animal!” I cry out.

“No, I am what happens when the prey becomes the predator. Don’t you forget that. I was planning on leaving you be, and just let Matthew use you for as long as he wanted, but then you caught Maxwell Turner’s eye. I had no idea he was a predator himself, but my Stella wants him, so you have to go. If he becomes a problem later, we can either ruin his career or get rid of him. I will do anything to keep my nieces happy, which is why Miller will be joining you this evening. I sold you as a two for one special. At least you will have each other as company.”

She pushes off the glass, and without a backward glance, walks down the tunnels, followed by her sister-in-law and niece.

I quickly look around the cell, but there’s no point in me trying to escape until they transport us to our final departure point in the US, so I sit on the bed and look into the other cells. The lights are out in all of them, but I can make out a figure in nine out of the ten cells, leaving only one of them empty. I wonder if they will put Miller in there, or if there will be another delivery tonight. I’m guessing it’s still Thursday, because the auction wasn’t wrapping up until Friday.

For now, I have to sit back and wait and hope that when the guys discover I’m missing, they stick to the plan.

Chapter 36

MILLER

When Ry drops me off after school, I head upstairs to my bedroom to wait for Mac to get home. Martha was picking her up from the airport at four, and then she was going to come straight home. I look at my watch, and it’s only four thirty now, so they’ll probably be a little longer. I head downstairs to see who has dinner duties tonight, that way I’ll know when they arrive home.

I shake my head in wonder as I make my way down the stairs. I have no idea how it happened, but Kensington has wormed her way under my skin. Max messaged us after they parted with a photo of what she looked like at the gala last night, as well as one he took of her asleep in his bed. I’m not sure which one was more beautiful, but both were so completely different from any other way I’ve seen her—minus black hair and heavy eyeliner.

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